Monday, March 25, 2013
Lock, Stock and One Smoking Barrel....
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| Jake's Red Top Smoker Grill |
With the onset of warmer weather comes the
blooming of the flowers, the tweeting of birds and the obvious hints of sunny days ahead. And as predictable as
these signs are, so are the signs of barbecue season. But wait, there’s a new old wave that’s
coming through this season. And that
wave is the rise of the USD (Ugly Smoker Drum), or plainly enough smoking in
barrels with removable tops. Now Jake’s
has been smoking meats for generations and we’ve been building smokers for the
better part of 40 years but recently we decided to begin selling what we make
so often. While all that’s good and fine
what’s been missing for most is the practical uses of these USD units. Many can
tell you how to build one or what to expect and even where to buy the parts but there just seems to be a shortage of easy to use, convenient recipes and
instructions for cooking. So, to get you
on your way I’ve included one of our easiest smoking recipes, smoked barbecue
ribs. In this recipe I take you from the
front door to the back porch and ultimately to the table with these step by step
instructions. Keep in mind smoking meats
is wonderful but takes time and planning.
One should begin the planning process at least a day in advance of the
smoking to get things perfect. When the
smoking begins try to dedicate at least 6 hours to the entire process. While you’re not standing around staring at
the barrel for 6 hours, you are in fact monitoring the process for that period
of time. So, let’s get started.
Smoking Jake’s Barbecue Ribs:
There are many ways to smoke
ribs making them succulent, sweet tasty and full with a natural smoky flavor.
This method uses a water smoker which not only delivers the richness of smoke
but adds additional juiciness to the ribs through the use of water. The process cleans up nicely and the results
are fantastic. Because we are using a USD we will focus on the use of charcoal
and the components necessary to make that work. If you have a smoker with a
heat element or gas system you can still achieve the smokiness that you desire.
Most of these steps translate directly to your preferred method.
Preparatory steps:
-Assumptions: We’re going to assume that you’ll either be
smoking the ribs on a Saturday or Sunday.
That would mean that either on Friday or Saturday you’re going to have
all the necessary materials at your disposal to ensure that things go well on
the DOS (Day of Smoke). In addition to
the USD we’re going to assume that you have some way of hanging meat in
suspension over the charcoal as it’s cooking either by hooks or by some other
hanging method. We’ll also assume that
you’re going to be eating your meal on the DOS in the afternoon of either day.
Ingredients:
1 USD (Ugly Smoker Drum)
1 Standard Bag of Regular or
Non-Matchlight® Charcoal**
1 Rack of Ribs (at least 13
bones in a standard rack)
1 pan/dish to carry at least 1
Quart of Water
4 Tablespoons of Jake’s Tri
Tip, Steak and Rib Rub (All Natural)
4 Tablespoons of Standard
Yellow Table Mustard
2 Cups of Wood Chips (Hickory,
Alder, Cherry whatever you prefer)
1 Roll of Foil Wrap Aluminum
1 Chimney Fire starter
Seasoning pork or beef ribs beforehand enhances the flavor when the ribs are finally cooked. The best Dry Rub Rib mixture will allow the meat to marinate evenly throughout the ribs. Since Jake’s makes and sells it very own Tri-Tip, Steak and Rib Rub this is an easy one for us. But if you don’t have a dry rub there are a couple of ways we can remedy this. One, you can simply go to our website at www.jakesbbqsauce.com and order your dry rub using code: 1501062009 at checkout which will give you a 10% discount. Or you can go to our website at www.jakesbbqsauce.com and search for a copy of one of our open source recipes for dry rubs that we have available free for any site visitor. Just type in “dry rub recipe” in the search box and you’ll be taken to the web page listing the recipes.
Before applying the dry rub you’ll need to clean your ribs. Take the ribs if they’re pork and simply use a paper towel and your fingers to remove as much of the white membrane on the backside of the ribs. This membrane barrier when removed allows you to deliver more flavors from the dry rub directly to the meat. After cleaning pat the ribs dry with a paper towel to remove any excess water moisture. Lay down a long piece of aluminum foil enough to wrap the ribs in when completed. Following the foil lay the ribs on top of the foil. Coat the rib with the yellow mustard on both sides of the meat. If you used your hands to coat the meat you must thoroughly clean your hands to prepare for the next step. Follow the mustard with the dry rub coating both sides thoroughly. When done coating cover the ribs with the foil wrap. Seal as much of the ribs as possible with the wrap. Now, take the ribs and place them in your refrigerator where they will rest overnight. The combination of dry rub and mustard will help tenderize the meat and make it juicier when cooked.
Next Day DOS:
Since you’ll need at least 6
hours of smoke time it’s a good idea to get the grill ready by 9 AM. We’ll assume that you’ll have all the items
and ingredients you need and that you’ll light the fire at 9 AM. First position your USD so that you will be
upwind from the unit. Remember it will
be smoking most of the day so ensuring that you’re not in the smokes’ crossfire
will run favorably in your direction especially if you have a few sensitive
family members or a testy neighbor.
Remove the charcoal basket from
the USD and fill with Regular Non- Matchlight® charcoal.
Place the basket back into the USD and ensure that the vents which
provide air to the unit are about half way open. Take a handful of smoke chips
and place them onto the charcoal. Also,
take the soaked chips and split them into two piles. Do not discard the water
from the chips as we will use this later in the process. Take each pile and wrap them in aluminum
foil. Tear a hole in the foil to allow
smoke to rise from the foil. Take the
packets and place on the outer edges of the charcoal. Take enough of the charcoal left to fill the
Chimney fire starter. Take a couple of
strips of newspaper and ball them up.
After balling or wading them up place them under the starter. The starter should be placed on a stone or
metal surface. Remember this unit will
get hot, ensure that it is not placed anywhere that kids or adults may
accidently come in contact with the unit.
Also, ensure that the unit is not placed in doors when starting or on any
surface that might catch fire. These
steps are critical to your health and safety, do not take them lightly. Once the fire starter is placed take either
a match, lighter or barbecue lighter and light the paper underneath the chimney
starter. Within moments you’ll see the
smoke from the burning paper rise up through the charcoal. The intense heat of the flame against the
bottom charcoals feed by the open vents of the starter will allow the charcoal
to begin burning and will ultimately act to start the fire on the surrounding
charcoals.
**Charcoal: Note, we recommend
using non-matchlight® charcoal. This use
will allow the charcoal to burn naturally.
If you use matchlight® or similar then all the charcoal will light as
one unit which converts your smoker from a smoker to a grill. Since we’re attempting to smoker and not
grill this would be detrimental to our process.
Now, you can use a few matchlight® briquettes at the bottom of the
chimney starter if you’re having trouble getting the first started. Beyond, using matchlight® in the chimney
starter I would hold it aside for the days in which you intend to grill and not
smoke.
Once the Chimney starter is
going let it burn for at least 10 minutes.
The objective is to get about half or more the charcoals lighted without
having them burn white all the way. This
will help start the fire in the charcoal basket when transferred. After the charcoals have reached their
desired burn level use a heat protective glove or towel around the handle of
the chimney to pick the unit up and dump the charcoals onto the charcoal
basket. When dumping the charcoals keep
in mind there may be sparks for the charcoal or embers which may float
around. Be aware of the wind temperature
and the area in which you are transferring the coals so as not to send sparks
onto dry grass or brush. Dump the coals
over the center of the charcoal basket.
While the charcoals settle they will come in contact with the existing
charcoals which will catch fire and begin to smolder. As the heat builds you will begin to see
smoke rise from the wood chip packets.
Once this the packets are smoking take a metal container or bowl and
fill it with the water from the chips that were soaked. Place the metal container on top of the
charcoals directly in the center. Make
sure the container is level and keep in mind as the charcoals burn they will
reduce in size causing the dish to change position. Don’t let the dish shift too much because it
may spill causing the water to cover the bottom on the smoker. If the water
comes in contact with the smoker it may put your fire out. A good way to determine something is wrong is
by monitoring the temperature gauge. If
there is a dramatic drop in temperature then you know something is wrong and
should be attended to.
Once the charcoal is set remove
your ribs from their foil and insert the hooks to hang the meat. Transfer the meat to the smoker and
hang. Place the lid on the unit
carefully and monitor the temperature. A
good smoking temperature is 200 degrees.
A great smoking temperature is closer to 250 degrees. The best way to manage the amount of heat is
through the movement of the air vent.
Adjusting the vent either open or close will deliver more or less air to
the burning charcoals. More air equals
faster burn and of course less air means slower burn and longer cooking. If you are cooking pork always be aware of
the temperatures necessary to full cook the meat. The temperature must be high enough to move
the meat out of the know danger range to kill bacteria and allow meat to
cook. If the meat stays in the danger
range too long one can get sick or ill.
Having your smoker at 250 will ensure that bacteria and illness never
become a problem.
Ongoing
It is a good idea to take at
least one additional cup of smoking chips and have them soaked and ready for
use. After every 2 hours you should
check on the water in the dish and also the wood chips. If you need more water carefully pour more
into the container without spilling or turning it over. If you need more chips simply take a small
handful and sprinkle them over the burning charcoals. You may not need more charcoals but if you
see them burning awful fast do two things, first close the vent door a bit to
slow the burn process, second, prepare more charcoal by filling the chimney
starter. Once the charcoal reaches its
desired temperature fill the charcoal basket as necessary. When filling the basket watch for charcoal
dust spray as the charcoals land on the ones beneath. If you have a large enough access door fill
the basket from the access door.
Monitor the temperature and
allow the smoke to perform its magic.
Once the meat is cooked add barbecue sauce after removing the ribs from
the smoking process.
Slice the meat accordingly and
plate with condiments, salsa, garlic bread and other items.
Things to Avoid
Things to avoid are smoking on
windy days or in areas where the smoke will drift causing irritation to
neighbors or family members.
If you follow all these steps your ribs should turn our perfectly, just remove, cut, and serve.
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